An Airline Refused Girls From Flying Because They Were Wearing Leggings

United Airlines is facing some serious backlash on social media after it was leaked the company prevented a group of young women from boarding Flight 215 from Denver to Minneapolis on Sunday because they were wearing leggings.

The exchange between airline staff and the girls was witnessed by fellow passenger and political activist, Shannon Watts, who live-tweeted about the incident on her account.

In her tweets, Watts claimed one of the girls who was refused entry to the plane was only aged around 10 years old. The girl allegedly eventually put a dress over the leggings and was allowed to board with her father.

1) A @united gate agent isn’t letting girls in leggings get on flight from Denver to Minneapolis because spandex is not allowed?

The entire controversy has gained massive amounts of attention around the world, with some people accusing the airline of being sexist, pointing out the obvious fact that it’s wrong on all kinds of levels to accuse preteen girls wearing leggings of being improperly clothed. (FYI: as women, we should be able to wear whatever the hell we want without being shamed for it.)

United Airlines have since given a statement explaining the situation from their side. The passengers in question were flying on ‘buddy passes’, which are discounted tickets given to family or friends of a United Airlines employee. These tickets come with limitations and stricter rules, including a code of conduct and a dress code.

The buddy pass guidelines do allow jeans and some shorts, but prohibit form-fitting pants like leggings. In its statement, United didn’t actually say sorry for enforcing the strict dress-code on the young girls, but did address leggings in general.

“To our regular customers, your leggings are welcome,” the airline said, adding even more confusion to the matter.